Learning as I age

Month: November 2014

Yarn bombing is a method of covering any object into a colourful gay object, by covering it in yarn.

It looks like a forest of colours. Some experts say that there is an international guerrilla movement revolving around yarn. It really looks like this forest has been attacked by colourful handiwork.

Yarn graffiti or yarn storming, as this art form is called is an amalgamation of various craft forms like installation art,( which of course is used largely to install these pieces), needlework( to sew the pieces around and make them fast), and of course crochet or knitting to make the pieces.

As you can see it would be difficult for one person to install each of these on to the trees. Obviously a group of people must have made these. Thats what makes yarn bombing so much fun. People who are unknown to each other are drawn towards the creation of these pieces, with a strong sense of camaraderie, love of the craft and for the fun of it. Communities of friendship have been built around yarn.

What would your reaction be if you happen to see one of these objects ” tagged” as is the yarn bomber’s jargon for installing a piece on an object ?

I would be taken by surprise, because I wouldn’t have expected this, in the first place. Then I would smile and examine it in great detail and if I was an expert at crochet or knitting, I would try to find out what stitches had been used. And finally I would take photographs.

Sociologists argue that people are going ” back to a basics” culture all over the world. They want to do things themselves. Creating works of craft and art by ourselves, gives us a sense of satisfaction and confidence in ourselves.

Any object can be chosen to be ” bombed”- it can be your pen, a door knob, a tree, a street lamp post, a park bench, you name it, it can be done. The Bull at the New York Stock Exchange is one of the famous street fixtures that has had the privilege of being yarn “bombed.”

Yarn bombing is a method of bringing out the creativity within a person.

I am a crocheter myself and am vastly interested in this craft. I wonder how the yarn bombers have the guts to bomb public fixtures.

I would like to try it though-I am going to start small- may be my cell phone or my pen or a door knob or may be even my cat – what do you think ?

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Its about a week since I started the new job. It has been a really new experience. Things have been tough and tight at home but we managed to pull through this first week and all of us are still alive.

The cat is ok, though he must be missing me. (I like to think this). Most of the time his food is uneaten in his dish.

The nights are shorter and its night by 4:30 pm. At job, it is really cold with the stone buildings and the Air Con.

I have been driving to work 2 days now. It has been a hassle with the multiple roundabouts and the jammed signals on the way. I was late by about 2 hours the first day but managed to get by without being pulled up for it.

Today I started about 30 minutes earlier- so managed to reach on time.

We get food on the campus, so there is no food problem. And the daily quota of exercise from the long walk from the parking lot to the office building.

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After about a year and half, I am going back to a formal desk job tomorrow.

What do I feel like now ?

To tell you the truth, the age of feeling excited about new things has passed. All I can think of now is how I am going to reach the place and come back on wintry days. Will my cat miss me ( he has been so used to having a house- mother)?

And I will not be here to receive my daughter when she comes back from school. This worries me a little.

Why am I going back to work if I am not excited about it ? For some reason, a break in the work history on the CV is not very good for a middle aged woman. ( I don’t understand the logic of this but there it is).

And the money will be very useful of course. I could buy all the books I wanted, without borrowing money and I could have some degree of financial freedom.

I have been working even when I was off a day job. I worked at home, in the garden, looking after the cats, the kitchen and a did a lot of other housewifely chores,which will now remain status quo, till the weekend.

I learnt crochet and about yarn bombing. I started writing and also learning about writing. I have learnt quite a bit and am a fairly professional writer. So I feel confident enough to meet others and don’t feel at all as though I have taken a break.

Nevertheless it will be a new day and a new life tomorrow.

What are the reasons women want to work ? Do they have second thoughts often and think of the life they might have had, had they chosen to remain home makers? Isn’t a home maker’s life satisfying enough? Doesn’t she get the appreciation she deserves at home ?